Official Dodgeball Rules
Growing up dodgeball has been one of my favorite recreational sports, but in my school district dodgeball was not allowed, because it was too hazardous to students. How many of you were not allowed to play dodgeball in your school? This is the official dodgeball rules from the NADA (National Amateur Dodgeball Association).
THE EQUIPMENT
The official ball used in tournament and league play will be an 8.25" rubber-coated foam ball.
THE GAME
The object of the game is to eliminate all opposing players by getting them "OUT". This may be done by:
1. Hitting an opposing player with a LIVE thrown ball below the shoulders.
2. Catching a LIVE ball thrown by your opponent before it touches the ground.
Definition: LIVE: A ball that has been thrown and has not touched anything, including the floor/ground, another ball, another player, official or other item outside of the playing field (wall, ceiling, etc)
BOUNDARIES
During play, all players must remain within the boundary lines. Players may leave the boundaries through their end-line only to retrieve stray balls. They must also return through their end-line.
THE OPENING RUSH
Game begins by placing the dodgeballs along the center line – three (3) on one side of the center hash and three (3) on the other. Players then take a position behind their end line. Following a signal by the official, teams may approach the centerline to retrieve the balls. This signal officially starts the contest. Teams may only retrieve the three (3) balls to their right of the center hash. Once a ball is retrieved it must be taken behind the attack-line before it can be legally thrown.
TIMING AND WINNING A GAME
The first team to legally eliminate all opposing players will be declared the winner. A 3-minute time limit has been established for each contest. If neither team has been eliminated at the end of the 3 minutes, the team with the greater number of players remaining will be declared the winner. Details on overtime can be found in the NADA Rule Book.
TIME-OUTS & SUBSTITUTIONS
Each team will be allowed one (1) 30 second timeout per game. At this time a team may substitute players into the game.
5-SECOND VIOLATION
In order to reduce stalling, a violation will be called if a team in the lead controls all six (6) balls on their side of the court for more than 5 seconds. This also applies to tied teams. More details can be found in the NADA Rule Book
RULE ENFORCEMENT
During pool play or regular-season matches, rules will be enforced primarily by the "honor system"*. Players will be expected to rule whether or not a hit was legal or whether they were legally eliminated. All contests will be supervised by a court monitor*. The court monitor’s responsibility will be to rule on any situation in which teams cannot agree. THE COURT MONITOR’S DECISION IS FINAL – NO EXCEPTIONS.
N.A.D.A. Code of Conduct
1. Understand, appreciate and abide by the rules of the game.
2. Respect the integrity and judgment of game officials and N.A.D.A staff.
3. Respect your opponent and congratulate them in a courteous manner following each match whether in victory or defeat.
4. Be responsible for your actions and maintain self-control.
5. Do not taunt or bait opponents and refrain from using foul or abusive language.
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Comments
Dodge Ball was one of my favorite recess games, until someone got hurt and then we were no longer allowed to play it either. In high school we would play in gym but we used really soft balls and if you hit someone in the head you were done for the day. Reading the rules are very interesting. the softball team recently played the girls basketball team in dodge ball, and i think we followed most of these rules, but I'm sure our game lasted longer than 3 min. That seems like a really short time for a game. Don't you think?
I played dodgeball as a kid, and we didn't use the cute foam balls that P.E. teachers use today. We used the rubber ones that people usually play kickball with. The idea was get out of the way or it will hurt. Honestly, I think it was awesome.
There isn't an activity done in P.E. that doesn't have some amount of risk in it. For some reason people have gotten all uptight about dodgeball. I heard one person make the comment that it's not a good game because if you're not good at it then it's detrimental to a student's confidence. What a horrible argument. If we only played games that everyone was good at, then we would have no games to play! I think it's a great game, and there are many versions that allow for differing levels of athletes to still have fun playing it.
In subbing in P.E. here in AZ, I'd say half of the schools still play dodgeball.
It is important to recognize the position statement on dodgeball published by the National Association for Sport & Physical Education (NASPE), the leading professional organization in the United States whose standards are also recognized internationally:
http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/standards/upload...
Our school Jr. and high school played dodge-ball and had a blast. I don't know if they are still playing it and I plan to ask the next time I see my old PE teacher. I agree with Brady all sports can have potential risks that is where the coaches need to make the teams fair with equal abilities.
I love dodgeball so I was really happy to see that someone posted something about it::) I do have to say that I agree with Krista when she says that 3 min. seems like a really short amount of time. Was it in the rules you found or did you set your own time limit?